I previously read on the forums here, about using tin foil for rock formations. Well I decided to try it. I started using pieces of extruded foam for the hilly area. Then I applied some foam putty.
While the foam putty was still wet, but dry to the touch (about 1 hr), I crinkled up some tin foil, and then pressed it into the wall.
I really like the results, let me know what y'all think?
Before:
After:
Michael
CEO- Mile-HI-RailroadPrototype: D&RGW Moffat Line 1989
What method did u use to prevent it from sticking to the foil?
That, has been my 'hang-up...'
Looks like a good start.
I have never used foam putty, so will be interesting to see the results once you get them colored up and the area sceniced.
Used tin foil for many of my rock formations, but I crumpled it, spread it out, turned up the edges and poured in sculptamold. When it started to set I applied it to the foam surface. Has held very well over several years. The only thing I would do differently would be to not attach the foam of the outer part of the cut to the layout until I had colored the faces. As it was the cut was a little narrow to use a sprayer or anything but a short brush to do the coloring with. If I had temporarly pinned the smaller foam piece in place, attached the face, then removed it, I would have been able to color the faces much more easily.
Post some more photos when you get further along.
Good luck,
Richard.
Thanks guys. I appreciate the feedback. I have the WS dyes to color the rock wall. I sure hope it turns out OK. I'll keep posting updates of my progress.
Chad, the foam putty I used didn't stick to the tin foil. It takes a long time to dry. But the outer surface was dry to the touch when I pressed in the in foil.
Michael,
I have always 'cast' mine when they were 'wet', & there may lie/lay the issue I have. Thanks for the info on the technique, I'll be on the lookout for those products sometime!
ChadLRyan Michael, I have always 'cast' mine when they were 'wet', & there may lie/lay the issue I have. Thanks for the info on the technique, I'll be on the lookout for those products sometime!
Ya you should wait till it dries to the touch.
The foam putty I used, I got it at Home Depot. It's actually called "Lightweight Spakling". Costs only $6 for a med. sized can. It's actually the same exact stuff as the WS foam putty. (which is of course way too expensive).
btw, the foam putty soaks up the WS pigment dyes just fine. I just finished the first coloring layer. I'll post some more pics tomorrow.
Using tin foil is an interesting approach. Like others, I will be interested in the final result.
I use crumpled newspaper to construct my rocky formations, then cover it with Woodland Scenics plaster cloth. Works like a charm.
Rich
Alton Junction
I used the crumpled foil approach on one occasion and was not overly happy with it. It probably depends on the type of rock you are trying to model. If you are modelling a specific scene and the rock has a lot of striations then it really does not work very well as you have no control over the crumpling effect and therefore the direction of faults and cracks in the rock. I think it does quite well for granite rock, but would recommend doing a bit of carving into the plaster, once it starts to setup.
If you consider how rocks weather, water erosion tends to be vertical, resulting in fissures up and down the face of the rock, these are the kinds of things that could be added with carving into the plaster.
The advantages of the foil approach are that you can get a representation of rock cheaply and quickly over quite large areas. But what you can end up with is a generic randomness to the formations that does not hold up well when compared to nature.
Simon Modelling CB&Q and Wabash See my slowly evolving layout on my picturetrail site http://www.picturetrail.com/simontrains and our videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/MrCrispybake?feature=mhum
I have occasionally used crumpled (aluminum) foil -- tin is pretty expensive unless, of course, you chew a couple of thousand dollars worth of gum or eat three thousand foil-wrapped candy bars each year -- for texturing rock faces but I do things just a little differently than you.
I built a 3" X 6" box/cage open on both long sides. I cut a 3" X 6" panel from 1/8" plywood to which I applied some sort of wood handle to one side and strips of double sided tape to the other and then lay this down inside this box/cage. I crumpled up a rather large piece of heavy-duty foil which I folded into roughly a 3" by 6" dimension and then lay into this box/cage atop the tape strips. I (loosely) compressed the foil before removing it from the box/cage still firmly taped to the 1/8" plywood panel.
After I have roughed out the contour of my hard-shell scenery I lay on an exterior coat of paper-towels soaked in Hydrocal®. After this has become tacky and pretty well adhered to the hard-shell underneath I press the foil against it leaving impressions from the foil onto the rock face. I remove this 1/8" plywood panel, refold the foil into a different pattern, and repeat the procedure from the previous paragraph; this renders a completely new set of impressions for a different rock face.
Sooner or later your foil will become unusable and have to be replaced but this procedure turns out to be relatively inexpensive in the long run.
From the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west I am: rtpoteet
maybe I missed this but,could you just pour plaster a paris or equil onto crinkled tinfoil tray (like a latex mold) and when dry remove foil ?....is there a sticking problem ? ...Jerry
Jerry,
I have used tin foil to pour rock castings, all I use is wet water for a release agent. Works fine.
Keep a crumpled piece handy when doing large castings. Pour any excess into it and let it set up for small pieces of ledge showing through here and there.
Most of the time I am able to use a piece of foil several times before it gets to torn up. Sometimes I just have to make it a little smaller.
Richard
OKI -DOKI my friend ,Im going to try it ,BUT that wet water recipe would be ? (somewhat a new be ) .....Jerry ps dont have a large enough project to justify 30-45 american for a mold even though there results are first cabin ...plus my wifes been asking "how much for all this stuff "type questions
Wet water: 16oz of water and 5-10 drops of the wife's dish detergent. If she's too inquisitive, get the detergent while she's out shopping. Actually I have my own bottle as I use it for cleaning brushes and the like. Dollar store should have some.
For just wetting things down, I use a spray bottle that household spray cleaners come in. One that has a spray is better than a stream, many have adjustable nozzles. Rinse them good and they will work fine. Most of them do not do as well when spraying scenery, as the spray is too coarse and it bunches up the scenic material. A fine hair spray bottle I hear does better and you can get a mister at a garden supply store that will give a nice fine spray for your scenic work. I use the recycled household bottles for washes and initial wetting.
Geeez, well after quite a few hours the last two days, I finally finished the rock wall scene!
Let me know how I did?
You did awesome !
Thank you Rich, I appreciate that.
What did you use for those stone retaining walls?
It came out really nice. Great job on the coloring and the use of the ground foams and the foliage. Not too overdone, looks real good. Also interested in your retaining wall as I have need of a very long one in the not too distant future.
good work Michael, could use a train in the scene to brig it together . I can only hope my rock work comes out as good !...Jerry
Nice job! I was wondering what it would look like after you applied the pigments, but it turned out great. I can see a lot of variations in color on the rock face. And good job on the foliage. Two thumbs up.
Edward Davis
Contributor @ Model Train Hobbyist Blog
Great job Motley, you've come a long way in a short time. May I suggest, (and you are probably already are) to add some talus to the bottom between the rock wall and the track to represent fallen rocks.
"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."-Albert Einstein
http://gearedsteam.blogspot.com/
Thanks guys, I really appreciate all the feedback.
I didn't think of adding talus, I'll do that today.
Rich, I used the foam putty, spread it onto the rockwall. And then pressed the crumpled foil into it. For coloring, I used WS pigment Black, Yellow, and Red.
I'll shoot a video for you guys, and post it later here.